Laven week!
by baka coconut
Summary: Mwuahahahahahaha, the time has come! Last chapter for "Finishing" is up! Happy Laven week everyone!
1. Sea Glass

Hello everyone! I'm going to try to participate in Laven week! Hopefully, I don't get too lazy to see it through ^_^;;; so, I thought I'd start off with the culture theme!

AU, modern day, South Jersey. Why? Because Jersey in it's self is a culture XD One crazy, toxic waste infested culture. Pre-existing relationship.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

* * *

The wind ripped through Allen's hair, tugging at the silver strands like an infant would.

He sat straight, fingers wrapped around the leather strap attached to his seat. Lavi's hair kept blowing in his face, so he had to keep leaning farther and farther back, loosening his hold on the tether to do so. It made him nervous, but he trusted Lavi's driving enough to allow himself this small feat of bravery.

He looked down at the street as it flew under him. It seemed like the world was moving, not Lavi's bike. He had a nice little street bike that he rode around, red of course. Allen didn't really want to make the hour trip on the back of Lavi's "baby", but decided to allow it. Lavi's eyes had shone with such excitement the instant Lenalee had mentioned it, and Allen just couldn't refuse. Well, forty five minutes and ZERO cushioning later, he was already dreading the return trip.

But then he just looked back to Lavi.

And it was worth it all over again.

The serene look in his only visible eye, the smile that refused to leave his lips, no matter how many traffic lights they came to. Allen looked away, letting his own hair hit him in the face to hide his blush. Allen recoiled his hands more, blushing harder. Why, _why_ would they put the equivalent of a seat belt directly behind Lavi's ASS?!

Allen couldn't help himself from, essentially, face palming.

God, what was wrong with him? He couldn't remember a time when he _didn't _have a crush on the redhead. He also couldn't remember why he _still_ hadn't confessed. He knew Lavi was gay, he knew that he has been in quite a few relationships over the course of their friendship. So why couldn't he bring himself to be one of those relationships? Allen wasn't someone to deny who he was, and he'd been in relationships while knowing Lavi as well. So what the hell was _wrong_ with him?!

He sighed as he smelt salt water.

He knew why. He'd always known. It was because he was afraid. Afraid of losing Lavi, afraid of him shaking his head, trying to not be too harsh as he said "sorry, there's someone else," or "wouldn't it be weird after all this time?" or even "sorry Allen, you're just not my type!"

Allen bit his lip.

It was always days like this that made Allen feel that emptiness inside him the strongest. He looked down to his left hand, gloved.

The only memento his parents left him.

He saw his reflection in Lavi's mirror, saw his scar.

The only memento Mana had left him.

A dying, delirious man had seen a creature with silver locks looking down on him, and thinking it was Death, attacked it. He had said that death should be marked clearly, that everyone should be able to see him coming and know their fate.

And now Allen had a bleeding pentacle above his eye.

It marked him as Death.

Allen looked down.

Lavi slowed down.

They parked next to a meter, Lavi sticking quarter after quarter in. Allen calculated their time based on how many times he heard the change drop in.

"Alright then, let's go!" Lavi started running. Allen had to try harder than usual to make his boots leave the ground. Panting, they approached a sand dune with a well-worn path through the middle of it, allowing a sneak preview of the gray horizon beyond.

As they crested the hill, Allen took a brig intake of air, closing his eyes as he was hit it in the face with that first blissful breath of the never-ending sea breeze. Lavi was already removing his boots by the time Allen looked around again.

"Come on Allen, stop being so slow!" Lavi recklessly threw his shoes in the sand and began running for one of the jetties that jutted from the shoreline. Allen tried to give a chuckle, tried to not be so depressed, and let his boots fall to join Lavi's. He sort of wished he had kept them on, actually, as he felt small bits of shells and beer bottle sea glass dig into his heels. One of his favorite things was sea glass, actually, once containing something as crude as alcohol, only to be washed clean, broken, smoothed and sanded by forgiving waters.

He found he didn't mind the pricking sensation in his feet so much after all.

Lavi was waiting patiently for Allen to finish hobble-running his way over to where the rough, eroded rock began. "Come on, or it's gonna disappear," he turned, beginning the trek over the harsh stones, trying to avoid any sharp edges while Allen mounted the first rock.

"Oh come on Lavi, we still have a few hours before the tides change. We'll be fine," Allen finally managed to catch up, narrowly avoiding a nasty fall caused by the large amount of slippery seaweed and algae clinging to the rock's porous features. The rocks narrowed, became farther spaced apart as they progressed, a good fifty feet from shore at this point.

"You know Allen, you could slow down and just follow me." Lavi sent him a challenge with his eye shining bright the other hidden away behind his black patch. Allen huffed indignantly.

"Yeah right, and who would be there to save you when you fall into the ocean?" Allen chose that exact point in time to stumble over some driftwood and blushed as Lavi laughed at him.

"Oh, yeah right. I think it's the other way around, moyashi." Lavi kept smiling despite Allen's scowl. He'd used that nickname again, the one he'd picked up in his linguistic studies, and Allen didn't like it. Lavi wouldn't tell him what it meant.

They came to the very last rock, an impressive, large, flat one that stood out in the water to bravely break through the onslaught of waves that forevermore pounded against it. It was angled just right so that the sea spray would go around it, instead of over it, so it was their favorite place to sit.

And sit they did, not talking, just staring into the cloudy, cold March horizon. It was warm that day, for the time of year, and no one would be here so early in the season either. They always made the same trip on those days. The same days that Allen would do nothing but _remember _all day long. It started out as a way to comfort him after all, a way to distract him from the fact that he'd been abandoned, hurt, scarred, and forgotten over and over again. A way to make him blissfully unaware of the fact that he was living with his demon of an uncle instead of his _real_ father. Allen never even considered his biological parents to be anything close. He couldn't even remember them.

"You're thinking too loud again."

Allen snapped out of his musings to look at Lavi's smiling face. Allen smiled back, apologetic. "Sorry, you know how I get."

"I do," Lavi nodded, turning his face back to the waves. "but you should still try to relax. Here," Allen gasped as his head was pulled into Lavi's lap, his coat scraping against the stone beneath his side. "Just relax Allen."

Oh HELL no, this wasn't happening.

"N-no, I think I'll be fine just sitti-" Allen was pushed right back into the lap below him before he could get even two inches away.

"_Relax_," Lavi started threading his fingers through silver thread, scratching gently, stroking in an almost loving manner.

And it was ripping Allen apart.

He tried to make his eyes less wide, his blush less prominent, but he just couldn't stop his heart from beating in double time. The salty air was starting to burn his hyperventilating lungs. He actually started to feel tears form, feeling so betrayed by his body and angry and frustrated and he just wanted to _scream_ because of how unfair this situation was, how his feelings collided and contradicted.

Soft lips press against the corner of his eye.

"Relax Allen, I came out here for a different reason today."

Allen. Could. Not. Move.

Couldn't breath, couldn't see, couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't feel his heart beat.

Lavi kissed the same spot again, tasting Allen's tears; salt water.

"I wanted to tell you that I felt the same, that you could relax now," He bent over further to nuzzle his nose against Allen's cheek. "You don't have to be afraid anymore Allen."

Allen let his tears slip quietly down his face as he turned to place his lips against those above him, not saying a word.

After all, he knew that Lavi knew now, so there was nothing to explain, nothing to blubber and cry over as he tried to force his feeling out of his mouth like bile. There was no confession, no disgusting feelings, no fear or betrayal.

Only understanding, and the feeling that something wonderful had just bloomed between them, something soft, gentle, understanding.

Loving.

Allen held onto Lavi on the ride home, his hands wrapped around the other's chest, unafraid.

* * *

MWUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW! FLUFF!! I tried. Also, I didn't really mention too much about their clothes, because it's hard for me to see them in modern day clothes in the first place, let alone anything suitable to be worn on a bike in the middle of March. I used to go down to Ocean City like this in February with my sister and a friend. It was very cool, but we never got to the last rock, but it was something I've always wanted to do. Also, my friend got a video of a baby seal on the beach there once! It was AMAZING! Anyway, please let me know what you thought of this, it was just something that came to me as I wrote it, so please forgive any dumb stuff.


	2. Nude Day

Hurray for day two! New Day theme! Ugh, I'm writing two days in a row... THIS USED TO BE NOTHING!!!! *cries at the increased laziness over time* Soooooooo tired, I've worked a lot over the past few days, and my next day off isn't until Sunday still! GAH! Anyway, my sister helped develop this from being a fluffy, albeit boring story into something insanely funny, so she was my official muse for this. Tonight's theme is "New Day".

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

Warning: a little bit more than implied sex and nudity.

* * *

"That was… did we really just do that?" Allen turned his head to look into the emerald eye of his new lover.

"Sure did. It was totally awesome too," Lavi chuckled at he planted a light kiss onto Allen's forehead. A blush grew on pale cheeks.

"W-well, yeah," He tilted his head to meet those petal lips that hovered above him. "Thank you, Lavi."

Lavi cocked his head, wondering if he was good enough in bed to be thanked for it. "For what?"

"For loving me."

Lavi gave him a neat peck on the nose. "You're welcome, my little moyashi," He cuddled closer, having a suspiciously devious chuckle on his lips. "Tomorrow will be a new day."

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Allen woke the next morning to find that the sun was just a little too blinding for his tastes. He rolled over, snuggling into the ambiguous warmth next to him.

Wait, no, it wasn't ambiguous.

Allen snapped his eyes open to take in the smooth expanse of skin before him. For a moment, he froze, forgetting last night's passion. What had they-

_Hot, breathy sighs escaped his mouth as his fingers clung to the sheets, trying to keep himself steady, but the sensation was inescapable and all consuming, even before Lavi wrapped his fingers around his-_

Oh.

Allen blushed, scooting back a little, hiding his blush under the sheets. That's right. Lavi had reciprocated his feelings in a very- physical way. Allen's cheeks were positively on fire with the thought of how easily he gave himself up. He had wanted to have a good, steady, long-term relationship with someone before he lost his virginity to them, but well, Lavi was very- persuasive.

Allen shook his head violently, pulling the covers over his head completely as a whole new wave of shame and modesty smacked him in the face.

Then he saw that he was still naked.

And Lavi's naked ass was pressing against his back.

Allen outright _leapt_ out of bed, scrambling for his clothes.

Lavi rolled over, smiling groggily. "Good morning, Allen."

Allen clutched his clothes over his crotch, trying to preserve whatever dignity he still had after-

_Moaning Lavi's name over and over, begging for more, pushing back against already pounding thrusts to try to get Lavi even deeper, closer to that one spot-_

"G-GOOD MORNING!" Allen blinked at the loss of control over the volume of his voice. He started toward the bathroom, trying to find a place where he could get dressed without exposing himself first. "I-I'm going to get a quick shower Lavi, ok?"

Before he could get a reply, he closed the door, a little too hard, and locked it. He didn't want Lavi to get any ideas now.

He closed his eyes, dropped his clothes, and sighed. God, he couldn't handle this. He turned the nozzles in the shower, trying to get the temperature to a comfortable level. Once successful, he began scrubbing himself vigorously, trying to use up all his energy on this so that he would stop freaking out every time he saw Lavi-

_Looking at him with those eyes that spoke of hidden hunger, immeasurable need and undeniable want, burning quietly and furiously behind his half lidded gaze. His touches burned as they scorched a trail down Allen's abdomen, circling around his navel, before diving down toward Allen's_-

Allen slammed his head against the wall. He didn't really regret it, necessarily. He just would have liked to have taken things slowly, to really nurture a deep, loving relationship before things got to this level. He finished washing the suds from his hair, intent on leaving the bathroom with a much stronger demeanor, determined to sit down and have a talk about where exactly they would go from here. He began drying off with the towels provided, trying hard not to spend too much time admiring the little hickies on his chest.

If he really thought about it, this was all Komui's fault. He was the one that sent them here before everyone else. They were being sent to Germany, and since Allen and Lavi were both in the general area, they got to the rendezvous point way before the other members of their team. So, the equation goes: Lavi, plus Allen, plus lots of alone time, plus romantic villa, equaled last night.

Allen sighed as he finished tying his ribbon, looking at himself in the mirror. He did feel different, more mature, more- complete. He smiled at himself. Lavi had been right, this was a new day for him, and for them. It was their first day together.

He walked out of the room, only to find that Lavi was absent from the bed. In that absence though, a delicious smell stood substitute. Allen's smile broadened, imagining Lavi cooking them breakfast with a pink frilly apron, waiting to say "Oh Allen, I made twenty eggs and fifty strips of bacon, just for you!" The conjoined image of joy made Allen salivate as he hastened to the kitchen. When he arrived though, it was not a frilly pink apron that met him.

Instead, it was Lavi's naked ass. Again.

Allen reeled back, doing an about-face out of the kitchen.

"Oh, Allen!"

He winced at his name. Damnit, he'd almost had a clean getaway!

"I made enough food for the both of us, come sit down." Lavi came into the hallway, gesturing with his spatula. Allen just nodded at the suggestion, not trusting his mouth to not blurt something stupid out. He sat before a simply _glorious_ breakfast, consisting of every breakfast food known to man and an arrangement of fruits, all stacked high.

Lavi sat before a bowl of cereal.

Still naked.

Allen blushed, both at Lavi's persistent nudity, and at the drastic difference in the amount of food. Usually, it didn't matter, but Lavi made all of this food for him, putting in an obviously huge amount of effort, while making next to nothing for himself.

"Thank you Lavi, this all looks wonderful," He spoke quietly as he began. He dug his fork into a huge lump of egg. "How did you make all of this so fast?"

Lavi chuckled.

He dug his spoon into a pitiful amount of oats. "When you're cooking with the power of my Hiban, things like this are a breeze."

Allen almost spit all of his scrambled egg all over the place with his laughter. It was a relief to think of something other than Lavi's still obviously exposed self.

…..

Damnit.

"But Lavi, weren't you nervous to cook like… like that?" He gestured to Lavi's bare chest, thankfully the only thing visible at the table.

"Oh, no. I do this all the time. I'm tend to be naked a lot when I'm by myself."

And again, Allen had to try to not splurt his mouthful of food across the table.

"O-oh. So, that explains why you're still, uh, like that, then?" Allen took a much smaller bite of breakfast ham this time.

"Nope," He put an elbow on the table, leaning over his meager portion to look a petrified Allen dead in the eyes. "I'm like this specifically for you to look at me." He smiled as Allen's eyes widened, his munching mouth coming to an abrupt halt. "I would've like you to have had the same sentiments, but it's ok this way too."

Allen could _not_ look at him right now.

He was _mortified_.

Thankfully, he was saved from having to reply to that by a knock coming from the door.

"Ah! Crap Lavi, they must have gotten here early!" Allen jumped out of his seat, practically running to the door. He was probably _the_ most sexually awkward person _ever_, except for when he's actually in the middle of it, when-

_Lavi ran his hands down his body, tongue following, teasing, rolling over the line of his hips, his thighs, his stomach, his belly button. Everything that felt good, Lavi did, and when he finally took Allen into his mou-_

"LENALEE! YOU'RE HERE EARLY!"

The girl looked taken aback by the loud tone of voice Allen greeted her with.

"H-hi Allen! How are you doing? It's been a while."

Allen gestured for her to come in. "Oh, I've been fine, Lavi too. We were just having breakfast, are you hungry? I can make you something if you are," Allen was halfway into the kitchen when he spotted it.

Lavi's naked ass was still peeking out at him through the back of his chair.

Allen promptly turned around, raising his hands to stop Lenalee from proceeding any farther. "Actually, why don't you go get settled first? You've had a long trip, so you're probably pretty tired! Go unpack and relax for a little bit!" He shooed her up the stairs, trying to not be too obvious or rude. She gave him a funny look before shrugging and going about her way. Allen turned to race back to the kitchen.

"What're you doing?! Lenalee's here now! Go put something on!"

Lavi turned to make a sad face at Allen's harsh whisper, but got up without protest anyway. Allen didn't trust that compliancy, but decided to go along with it as he sat back down with his food.

After a few moments Lenalee returned, looking a bit more refreshed after having a moment to relax.

"Wow Allen, that looks great! Who cooked?" She sat down across from him, and he was more than a little disconcerted at the thought that Lavi had been sitting there in all his glory not too long ago.

"Lavi did, but I could make some for you if you'd like. You're welcome to any of mine too," Allen held up a plate of pancakes, which Lenalee graciously accepted.

"Oh, this is so wonderful, I haven't been able to eat since yesterday. The train I was on had all of it's food spoiled, so I've been surviving off of water."

Allen was in mid-nod, about to offer words of empathy when he glimpsed _it_ again.

His jaw dropped and he shot up from his chair.

"I'm sorry Lenalee, but I just remembered something! I'm so sorry, I'll be right back!" He ran into the hallway, pushing Lavi back up the stairs at the speed of light. He hoped Lenalee would be too confused to actually look over to where Allen's gaze had wandered before he broke away from their conversation.

"LAVI! Seriously, what are you doing?!" He had pushed them back into their room and locked the door.

"What? I put something on," Lavi pointed with a smile to his head, where his head band was mockingly placed.

"What-that!-That doesn't count! I meant put _clothes_ on, maybe some _pants_?!"

Lavi gave an impish smile before grabbing Allen round the middle.

"Maybe you should lose yours? I did say that today would be a nude day," He pushed them towards the bed, tugging at Allen's tie.

"Wait, what?" Allen stilled Lavi's hand and he sighed impatiently in response.

"Last night I said it, remember? Today would be a nude day for us?"

Allen blinked.

"Didn't you say 'new day'?"

Lavi smirked, giving another push to Allen's chest, inching him closer to the bed. "Nope, nude."

"WHAT?! No, wait! Lenalee's here! We can't possibly-"

"Have another opportunity to be like this any time soon?" Lavi had Allen at the edge of the bed, enough pressure on the back of Allen's knees to have him teetering on the edge of limbo, saying that Allen was going to fall to one side or the other, in the bed or out of it. It was his choice.

Allen looked away, flushed.

And fell back into the bed.

* * *

SO! HORRIBLY AWKWARD TO WRITE! MY POOR BETA'S EYES ARE GOING TO BLEED! MY SISTER IS GOING TO READ THIS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! But, I wrote this for you guys, who I have never even given a kiss scene to. XD I've always assed out of my stories before anything more than friendship was able to form, so I've never even written a kiss. Big jump here. Hoo, tell me how I did? I was so excited to see all the reviews for my last chapter, I'd really appreciate hearing from you again!

P.S NUDE DAY EVERYONE! PUNS GALORE! My dignity as a clean writer is now ruined T________T


	3. Fata Morgana

Day Three, WHOO! Still trying to go strong with the "Ocean" Theme. I've got quite the idea here, I just have to get through it. *takes deep breath* Determination man, determination, GO!

Disclaimer: don't own, don't sue.

AU, still in the same period.

If you're curious about the name of this chapter, go here:

http :// ponder . housewifemafia . com / Fata _ Morgana . html

With the spaces removed. Stupid lack of hyperlinking.....

* * *

The familiar tintinnabulation of the cafe's door chime roused Lavi from his daydream.

He raised his eyes to see his newest habitué politely approaching the counter. The boy was an enigma, only speaking while ordering, not making conversation with anyone. He had silver hair, making him look much older than he probably was.

Today, he bore a bleeding pentacle above his left eye.

"Hello, could I have a cappuccino with white chocolate please?" The boy's smile seemed far off, a shell of it's former glory.

"Sure thing! It'll be ready in a few moments, sir."

Lavi looked to where Lenalee had piped up, happily accepting the order for him. The boy nodded appreciatively before heading to the back of the shop. Normally, he would seat himself next to the window to gaze out at the passersby, but instead drew closer to Lavi's perch.

He was out back, on their deck, leaning against the railing that had kept him from tumbling into the ocean countless times. He looked up at the back of his shop, watching the cursive spell out Fata Morgana to the port behind him. The boy sat at the corner table closest to the water. He sunk his head down into his hands, covering his eyes. Lavi watched his hair sway in the breeze, ghosting over his plain white gloves.

"Something wrong?"

The boy started at the question, seeming like he hadn't even noticed Lavi standing not ten feet away.

"Oh, uh - no. Nothing really."

Lavi let a brief silence pass between them as he sipped his coffee; black. "You've been in here pretty often lately, are you new to town?"

The shorter boy smiled that hollow smile again. "Well, I was just visiting, but I've decided to stay." He looked down at his hands, now in his lap.

"Oh? Where're you from?" He received a sheepish look.

"You know, as silly as it sounds, I have no idea. I've been with the circus for as long as I can remember."

Lavi looked at him appraisingly, remembering the big tents on the other side of town. If he had to place him, he'd put the teen down as a tight-rope walker. "Well, that must be an interesting lifestyle. What's your name?"

"Allen Walker," He didn't ask the reciprocal question.

"I'm Lavi, the owner of this place. Nice to meet you."

Allen gave a polite nod, turning his attention to Lenalee making her way over with his cup. He accepted it with quiet gratitude before she returned to her usual post. "You're the owner? I thought you were just a clerk, because of your age. How did you manage to open this place so young?" He took a tentative sip.

"Oh, I actually inherited it from my grandfather."

Allen stilled, slowly lowering his drink down from his face. "Oh. I'm sorry to have brought it up," he stared down at the table.

"Nah, don't worry about it, it was years ago," They both sipped their beverages; contemplative and awkward. "What made you want to settle down here?"

Allen wrapped both hands around his mug. "I just - couldn't stay there anymore," He looked out at the ocean, seeming far away again.

Lavi admired the way his hair flicked across his neck. "Did something happen? Anything you need help with?" Tactless.

Allen let out a harsh laugh. "Not unless you can bring back the dead, Lavi."

Lavi had to look away, embarrassed at his insensitivity. "I'm sorry. Really."

Allen shook his head, a bitter grin on his pale lips. "It's not like it was your fault. He was an aerialist, part of our flying trapeze act. He was our daredevil," he looked down into his lap again. "He always performed without a net."

Lavi stared hard at the lighthouse on a nearby cape. He swallowed. "Were you close?"

"He was my father," Allen still had that rueful expression on his face. "Or at least, the only person I've ever known to be my father. He adopted me."

Lavi had no words of solace that would do justice to Allen's loss.

Allen shook his head again. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bothering you with this."

Lavi took a seat across from him. "No, I'm glad to be someone you can talk to," he settled into his seat, placing his own mug on the table. There was silence again, disturbed only by the rhythmic breaking of waves.

"It's only been a few hours."

Lavi looked up sharply. He had thought it had been a few _weeks_. Allen's composition was impressive for having only a few hours of mourning. "Why are you here then, after so little time?"

Allen met his eyes, the silver color stunning in the afternoon sun. "This is the only place I could go," he returned his gaze to the surface of his almost empty drink. "I couldn't go back to where so many memories were. After Mana was officially pronounced dead, I ran and didn't look back. This was the only place I had to go, the only familiar faces I had left."

Lavi placed his hand on Allen's, resting together on the tabletop. He didn't say anything, just squeezed lightly. He had imagined doing this with Allen before, sans the morbid atmosphere.

It seemed like Allen had too, judging by his increasing blush.

"If you don't mind me asking, why were you in the circus in the first place?"

"I was abandoned at birth because of a defect my arm has. I only survived because Mana found me in an alley."

Lavi rubbed his thumb over the back of Allen's glove. "He must've take good care of you."

Allen nodded, looking truly sorrowful for the first time. "He-he did my makeup today." His voice was shaky and Lavi squeezed his hands again. There was an unsteady quiet as Allen tried to compose himself, freeing one hand to pick up his mug to drain the rest of it's contents.

When his hand came back to the table, it was to squeeze at Lavi's.

A comfortable pause this time as they listened to the wind, the call of the gulls overhead.

"Would you like another one?" Lavi met those steel eyes again, memorized which part of the iris the sun was trapped in.

"Yes, please."

Lavi stood, sweeping the cup up along with his own, deftly moving through the outside seating area, making his way to the kitchen.

Allen watched the tide come in while he waited.

Lavi had never been one to hide his emotions, had always been straightforward and to the point. It was a hit or miss approach to life, but he felt it was the most honest and best understood way to live. Even before his life as a barista began, he had acted this way, and he thought now was a good time to employ that trait. He finished with the fresh cappuccino, planning on making it on the house as he walked back to their table.

"I know that right now, things are pretty hard, but if you just keep walking, just keep moving forward, then things are sure to improve eventually." He placed the cup in front of Allen's gloved fingers, standing over him as he observed the way his head perked up at what lay before him.

And as Allen watched a big frothy heart spin in a slow circle in his cup, he began to believe Lavi's words.

* * *

More depressing than I had intended. Shorter too and WAY hard to write for some reason. It probably didn't come out very well. ^_^;; I still like this idea though, and I hope you all do too. I wanted it to be fluffier, but thought it'd be a really strange way to mourn someone's death if everything was all daisies and rainbows. Please drop me a review to tell me what you thought!


	4. BAD Connection

Hello! I made it! I still haven't gotten a proper night's sleep yet, but I'm planning to tonight so I can write out my awesome idea for tomorrow well. For tonight though, please enjoy tonight's prompt of "connection", muse service provided by solstice zero.

Disclaimer: don't own, don't sue

AU, modern day, pre-existing relationship.

* * *

"So let the flames begin, so let the flames begin," Allen started, surprised to hear Lavi's ringer so early in the day. He fumbled with his bags as he tried to dig his phone out to silence it. "Oh, glory! Oh, glory! This is how we'll dance when, when they try to take us down, this is what will be, oh glory," he had a few people staring at him by the time he cut off the obnoxiously loud song.

"Hello?" He sounded out of breath, and Lavi laughed at him for it.

"Bought more stuff than you can handle again, Allen?"

Allen shifted the rather heavy bags into a more comfortable position. "No, I think I can handle a simple thing like clothes shopping without overdoing it. It's food shopping you've got to watch out for."

An easy laugh chimed though the speaker. "You've got a point there. Thankfully, I'm the only one who ever gets off on 'Charge in, BARGAIN!' Fridays."

Allen chuckled at the ridiculous name. "Yeah, otherwise we'd be broke by now. Anyway, what'd you call for?" He started walking toward the door to the mall, figuring he'd spent enough money today.

"Well, I was --- and wondered - lunch -- cute-" He kept cutting out.

"I'm sorry Lavi, I didn't get that." Allen pressed the phone harder to his ear, starting his walk to the bus station.

"I said -------"

Allen sighed in annoyance. "Do you just want to text me?"

"What?"

"I said do you just want to text me, so we can stop this?!"

"Oh, wait ---- over ----table!"

Allen stopped in his trek through the park, stopping the sound of his footsteps to hear better. "What did you say?"

"What?"

"Could you repeat what you said?!"

"What?! I coul --- hear--"

"What?"

"Wha---"

Allen clenched his phone, ready to break the damn thing. "Never mind! I'll just talk to you later!"

"What?!"

"I LOVE YOU I'LL SEE YOU LATER!" Allen hung up. Pissed off and ready to give the phone company hell about their supposed 'no dead zones guarantee', Allen stomped down the sidewalk.

"**I LOVE YOU TOO ALLEN!!!"**

And he stopped dead in his tracks. Slowly, he turned his head towards the voice.

There was Lavi, standing by the railing to a quaint little café, waving his arms to make sure Allen didn't miss him.

Well, Allen couldn't miss him, and neither could the entire crowd of people between the two boys.

Allen face palmed.

* * *

HA! I had a lot of fun with this. It's short, sweet and simple. It was refreshing in comparison to the 2,500 words of Nude Day. This is more akin to the length I'm used to. As a note, herbal tea tastes much better with sugar, but that ruins the point, doesn't it? By the way, I'm so glad I did Nude Day instead of what I was thinking of doing. I was going to use Muse's "Feeling Good" for it, but someone else had the same idea, so I'm glad I changed my mind XD they did a better job with it anyway ^_^ Again, thanks to Solstice Zero for being my muse, and beta-ing this!

P.S. Lavi's ring tone was "Let the Flames Begin" By Paramore.

Please let me know what you thought!


	5. Not Exactly the Best Birthday Ever

Hello! Back again, but posting a bit later than usual tonight, but whatever. Tonight is "Birthday", and I hope you guys like it. NOT SMUT. XD Onwards!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

* * *

Lavi, quite simply, HATED his job.

He was particularly bitter toward it today, it being his birthday and everything. He had put in requests for both he and Allen to have off months ago, and both were, for no reason, denied.

So, here he was, in his despised, sweaty, pink bunny mascot outfit, surrounded by screaming children, bossy moms, and the smell of feet. The old feeling of being cooler than everyone else because he was a better skater on roller blades was in no way present today.

He looked over to where Allen was.

He seemed flustered, sweaty, and hungry. Then again, he always looked hungry when he was working, since he was surrounded by delicious food all day. Pizza, wings, popcorn, candy, you name it, and there's a mountain of it somewhere in Allen's kitchen. Lavi thought it ironic that a boy with such an appetite would wind up making mounds of food every day only to eat none of it.

Lavi deftly drove through a pair of slow moving teens.

He ignored the annoying tug to his tail.

He skated over to where a small boy had fallen over and was having quite some difficulty getting back up and offered a hand. He couldn't talk, since that would ruin his mascot camouflage, so he just tilted his head to the side, trying to look cute enough to convince the boy to accept his help.

He started crying. Lavi spied the boy's mother trying to get over to them, clinging to the wall, so Lavi backed off. He didn't need to be accused of being a child molester again.

Seeing the lights brighten and the music slow from it's techno-rave speed, Lavi sighed in relief, glad that the time he had to spend in his god-forsaken suit was over at last. He didn't even mind the scratchy referee shirt as much. He glided off of the roller rink's floor, onto the carpet. Usually, it would be thick enough to make it quite difficult to skate upon, but theirs was so old and worn there was hardly a difference.

After maneuvering through a crowd of loud and highly annoying thirty-somethings, he finally managed to make it over to Allen's counter.

"Hey," God, how Lavi wanted to take off the head piece of his outfit, just so he could hold a decent conversation, but he couldn't until he was in the back room.

Allen looked up from opening a tub of cake icing. "Oh, Lavi! What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to head into the back room to change, but I thought I'd say 'hi' first," Though Allen couldn't see it, he gave him a big smile, confident that it would get through.

"Oh, well that was nice of you. Why not after though?" Allen started giving his fresh cake life with the sweet white decoration.

"You know how Komui gets. When I'm over here in costume, he thinks I'm picking up an order, but if he sees me normally he thinks I'm slacking," Lavi put his face in his palm, looking rather hilarious in his costume. "Really, that guy is like a fucking hawk."

"Language, Lavi. You don't want the little kids hearing you say that, do you?" Allen chuckled in the most mocking of ways.

"Oh shut up," he glanced down to the cake, now white, red and green. "God, is that a birthday cake, or a Christmas cake?"

Allen chuckled again. "It's a birthday cake for this little kid that won't leave me alone. Ever since I started working here, he just keeps coming over and flirting with me. He wanted me to make his birthday cake 'special' and from scratch." He added a little heart to the top.

"So why are you doing it? Why don't you just get a normal one from the back and just add some extra stuff onto it?" Lavi cocked his head, ears flopping with the motion.

"He tips really well."

Lavi was confused at the look Allen gave him then. Deciding not to inquire as to what his boyfriend had meant exactly, he excused himself to go get changed.

Finally relieved of his furry prison, he stuffed it into his locker, hoping to never lay eyes on it again. He knew it was an impossible wish, but he did it every day anyway. He gave Lenalee a wave before heading back out. She giggled as she returned the gesture, and Lavi was sure that if Komui had seen how cute she had been in doing so, he'd be castrated by now. That man had such a comp-

He walked right into a kiss.

"Wha-Whoa, Allen? What're you doing? We can't do that here!" Lavi pushed the rest of the way out of the door, confused and alarmed to see all of his coworkers gathered together. Was their kiss really a spectacle? Were they about to be fired, that fast?

"Happy birthday, Lavi!" Allen presented him with the cake he'd been working on earlier. "We all wanted to see you today, so I dragged you in for them!"

Lavi was caught between rage and adoration toward his boyfriend. "You mean, I didn't have to work today?"

"Nope!"

"And neither did you?"

"Not-uh!"

"And you couldn't do this before the 'Roller Party' hour?"

"Well, I think you're cute in your costume." Allen blushed, but was still giving Lavi that weird look of - seduction? - from earlier.

"Well, try wearing it sometime." Lavi reached for the side of the cake, fully intent on ruining Allen's decorative hearts.

"Hey! Not before the ceremony!"

Oh - Oh god. He didn't mean -

"Wait, Allen, don't do this to me!"

Allen smiled as the lights dimmed again, producing a lighter from his pocket. He was still smiling up at Lavi, even while lighting the candles. He must have enough experience with this to not need to look anymore. "Haaaaaaaaaappy birthday to you!"

Lavi put his hand over his face, feeling the eyes of the entire rink upon him, hearing echoes of _cha-cha-cha_. "Allen-"

"Happy birthday to you!" Allen drew closer, bringing the cake with him. "Happy birthday dear Laviiiiiiiiii!"

Sweet Jesus, they even got Kanda to sing with them?

"Happy birthday to you!" Allen raised the cake to Lavi's face. "And many mooooooooore!"

Begrudgingly, Lavi admitted that Allen was just too cute to refuse, and blew out all twenty candles in one breath.

"Whoooooooooo!!! You got all of them Lavi! Your wish will definitely come true!" Allen gave him another peck before heading off to put the cake on a table.

"You guys… You're all terrible!" Everybody laughed at how red his face was. He headed over to Allen, who had now magically acquired a knife to hand to Lavi as he approached. "That was torture, Allen."

Allen outright laughed at his embarrassment. "I know, but it was fun for the rest of us! We can leave now, and we'll get paid for the time we were here for too!"

Lavi wasn't amused as he made the first cut in the cake. "Well, that'll be nice, but it's still not a very good birthday present. I better still have tomorrow off at least." He was in the middle of the next slice when he was ripped away by his collar to be crushed against Allen's mouth, feeling his tongue roughly exploring. He was too shocked to respond properly.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll _need_ tomorrow off after your real present tonight."

And holy fuck, how right he was.

* * *

THE END! That's right, this ends HERE! You guys can feel free to wander over to your gutter, but nothing be written down! Anyway, this idea was procured by my sister again (I'mdefected, is her name, btw) and I thought it was absolutely FABULOUS! Honestly, I thought tonight was the Caged theme, so I was totally unprepared for tonight! It was kinda short again, but I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! I wanted to name this "exorcists on Ice!", but I wanted roller skating, so that wouldn't work ^_^;; See you tomorrow!


	6. Pepper Soup

Hoo boy, this one, I feel, will be a doozy. I'll try to do my best! Tonight's theme is "Caged".

AU, modern day.

Disclaimer: don't own, don't sue.

* * *

Allen was afraid.

He didn't bother to show it anymore, but he was absolutely petrified, _all_ the time. It never made any difference when he tried to speak with the Dodo or the clubs, they never heard his terrified words. They were things he feared too, after all, but they were the least threatening, so he thought he might be able to reach out to them. He stayed away from the mock turtle, his misshapen and cobbled together body stank with the smell of moldy soup and rotten pork. The Gryphon that accompanied him would spread his molting wings and snarl his tar-blackened teeth at Allen whenever he passed.

He still didn't bother to show his fear.

They wouldn't understand. Every time he flinched away from the broken-necked flamingos, they would look hurt and mockingly ask him about his reaction. He was insulted every time, feeling he had no need to explain their obvious injuries. They looked like someone had failed in beheading them. Maybe the King arrived too late to stop the process completely? Allen shook his head at the Queen's raging temper, rolling over to get more comfortable on his mushroom.

Everyone was so sarcastic and cruel, acting like they didn't know what he was talking about when he remarked about the Cheshire Cat's smile hanging above his window every night. They didn't laugh with him when he would joke about never seeing a grin without a cat before. No one would feel the terror that gripped him at night when that _damn_ cat would smile in at him, telling him he should go to the tea party, asking what he was waiting for.

It was obvious what he was waiting for.

Every night, he waited for _him_.

Lavi.

He was the only one who was like Allen, the only one not covered in rotting flesh or wet, matted fur. The only human who didn't have red, rolling, mad eyes.

He sent a furtive glance out his window to have his suspicions of there being another Caucus-Race tonight confirmed. He felt a scream starting to bubble up as the eaglet stopped in his course to snap his broken, cracked, blood stained beak at him through the twigs between them. Just as the other birds were gathering behind him, red eyes glowing in the light of the Cheshire Cat's sneer, he heard some branches breaking near him.

The avian onlookers scattered in a flourish of feathers as Lavi emerged from a door in a tree.

"Hey there Allen, how're you doing tonight?" He approached Allen's mushroom, carrying a tray with a bottle that said "Drink Me" and some squirming pill bugs that had an "Eat Me" sign sitting with them in a cup.

Allen couldn't answer the question, he was too occupied with the movements of tiny legs.

"Ah, not so good then?" Lavi came over, setting the tray on a large leaf next to Allen's perch.

"No, I'm ok today," Allen was hoping that Lavi would believe him. He didn't want to eat bugs anymore, didn't want to feel them walking down his esophagus to squirm in his belly again. At least the pill bugs didn't make him throw up cobwebs like the spiders did.

"Are you sure? You like pretty pale."

Allen nodded, giving a shining smile, ignoring the cackling that came from the grass underfoot. "Yes, I'm doing really well today. My stomach doesn't hurt or anything!"

Lies.

His stomach _always_ hurt.

They wouldn't give him anything without pepper in it.

It was cruel of the Duchess to give him her child, forcing him to eat it's deformed body every day.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that the new medication's been easier on you," Lavi sat down on the cap of Allen's mushroom, holding a familiar set of creatures. "I'll just take a quick look at you to make sure," he let a snake slither up Allen's arm, tightening at the elbow joint. It raised it head to whisper into Lavi's ear, tail clamped around Allen's pulse.

He couldn't help but clench his hands, hating the slick, slimy, contracting feeling.

But he trusted Lavi, and would let him do this to him everyday.

Next came Bill, reaching into his mouth, dirt covered, reptilian digits pressing his tongue down to peer down Allen's throat, probably trying to see if the bugs from yesterday were dangling in there or if they'd fallen down into the acidic depths yet. Lavi used a fistful of fireflies to join the lizard in his investigation. Allen wanted to puke, wanted Bill to get his scaly underbelly off of his taste buds, but waited for Lavi to finish, like always.

God, Allen hated this place. At least when he was with the King and Queen, he wasn't subjected to _this._

But then again, Lavi wasn't with him there.

He was with him here.

Lavi brought his handful of bugs up to Allen's face, pulling open his eyes to take a look at the pupil. After a moment of blinding light, Lavi retreated, crushing the backsides of the insects so that they would never shine again. He'd have new ones tomorrow.

"Well, you seem to be reacting normally, and your blood pressure isn't too high today. Are you feeling any more relaxed lately?"

Allen glanced out the window again, hoping that the smile out there wouldn't call him out. "Yes, things seem to be improving."

Lavi saw straight through him. "What's out there Allen?"

That stupid cat betrayed him again. "Nothing."

"Allen, I know you see something there. You're going to take your medicine either way, so you should just be honest with me," he turned toward the cup of scratching darkness.

"Nothing! I-I don't see anything!" Allen grabbed onto Lavi's emerald shirt. It matched the grass.

Lavi only sighed, turning to hand Allen the bottle and cup. "What do you think these are? I won't make fun of you if you're honest with me."

Allen gulped, _knowing_ what they were, _knowing_ that Lavi was trapping him. He knew what Lavi wanted him to say, but he also knew that his words wouldn't be taken as the truth and seem ridiculous, no matter what.

He hated Lavi for his lies.

Lavi was the same as the others, pretending like there weren't centipedes crawling out of the Dormouse's eyes. He would force Allen to map out the world, as if he couldn't just look around himself and figure out how to get to the croquet court.

When Allen finished, Lavi would lie to him in response, saying that there was no garden, that there was no Cheshire Cat to grin at him at night, that it was just the moon.

Allen couldn't understand why Lavi was trying to confuse him.

Wonderland was the only place he'd ever known.

"They're bugs and shrinking potion."

Lavi blinked. "Is that why you don't want to take them? You think they're bugs?"

Allen frowned. "Stop that. You know they're bugs."

Lavi handed them to him anyway. "No, Allen, they're not. You've taken them before, and you know what they are. You can see what they are."

Allen looked down. He saw a few pinchers mixed in with the shiny exoskeletons. "I _do_ see what they are. It's you who's lying." He looked up into Lavi's eyes, meeting only one. The other was covered by a black butterfly. "Why do you do this to me? I just - I just want you to help me! I need you to get me out of here," he placed the parcels next to him so that he could take hold of Lavi's hands. "You fell down the rabbit hole too, but you're not afraid! You must know how to get out."

Lavi turned away, retrieving his hands. "No. There is no rabbit hole."

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Allen had jumped off of the bad to stand ankle high in grass and spiders. "You _see_ him out there, you _hear _him taunting me! You _must_ feel the beetles under your feet crunching as you leave!" He fell to his knees, ignoring the yellow mix of guts that exploded from under him. His hands hid the sight from his eyes. "Please, don't do this to me anymore. Don't examine me with those creatures anymore. Please… _Please_, just stop lying to me."

Lavi stood from the mushroom, shaking some pollen as he did. Yellow eyes looked out from under it. "You need to believe me in order to get better." Lavi pulled Allen back onto the fungus. "I'm not lying Allen, and I _am_ trying to get you out of here. I _do_ know the way out, but it all starts with you believing what I say, and not what you see."

Allen shook his head. "How can I? There's nothing to prove what you're saying. You know you're lying, that's why you can't ever stay with me here. You can't stand to face what you're doing to me."

Lavi put a hand on Allen's head, knocking off a small slug in doing so. It writhed next to Allen's foot. "That's not true. I would love to stay with you, but I can't. I'm not allowed to have relationships with any patients."

Allen laughed. "Not allowed, huh? Are you the frog in disguise?"

Lavi frowned. "No, I'm just me. The Duchess doesn't run this place either, this isn't her mansion," He gathered up the spilled pill bugs.

"Why do you have to strap me down then? When you take me out of these woods into the caterpillar's clearing, why does that rickety old chair have to hold me down? Isn't she the one telling you that you have to do that to me?" Allen looked away, pained at his incarceration.

"You see things that aren't there, and you might hurt someone who you think is trying to hurt you," Lavi handed the "medication" back to Allen. "These will help you tell the difference between what's there and what's not, if taken for long enough."

Allen felt tears start to gather in his eyes. "I don't believe you. I want to, God I want to, but nothing has changed since I started staying here," Allen returned his face to his hands, fingers digging into the scar on the left side. "If anything, things are even more frightening than ever," his whisper hung heavy in the air.

Lavi put his arm around the other boy, bringing him close, feeling the trembles that ran through his body. "It's ok. Things will get better, I promise. It's only taken this long because we couldn't find the right medication for you, but if you really meant that you were feeling better, then this could be the one that will help you," he brought his other arm up as well, tightening his hold.

Allen cried into Lavi's chest, softly weeping, trying to make his whole world consist of nothing but the scent he was buried in.

He loved Lavi for his lies.

"What if it doesn't make a difference?"

Lavi pulled away to look Allen in the eyes. "Then we'll keep searching, but you need to at least try what we give you. We need your help; your honesty."

Allen looked out the window again, this time not hiding it. The sliver of white in the sky was laughing at him again. It made jokes about how hopelessly he had fallen for the red head, how he clung onto the hopes he was fed the same way he had held onto the driftwood that floated in the sea of his own tears. It said that he would only end up in another pointless race, having no beginning or ending, and no prize left over for him.

It smiled wider as Allen swallowed the squirming mass, chasing it with the foul potion.

He drank all of it, ate all of the insects, and Lavi smiled.

Allen smiled back, even though he was trying to keep the bile in his throat from rising any farther.

"Thank you, Allen. I have to go now, but I'm really glad you did that for me. I think you'll start improving soon, so keep me up to date on anything you might see, ok?" Lavi headed back toward the tree he had entered through. He gave Allen one last smile before opening the door to leave.

Through the opening, Allen could see white hallways, free of debris and dirt.

It scared him.

It was brightly lit, and Allen could hear birds singing before the door closed. He could still see that world through the door, that had now changed to have a glass window with a reinforcing metal mesh in it. Allen looked away from the sight, shoving his face into his mushroom. He couldn't stand what he saw. It was alien, blinding, and terrifying.

He hated Lavi for doing this to him, for making him have these hallucinations.

But he still couldn't wait to see him again tomorrow.

He loved Lavi for doing this to him.

* * *

The end! Please, PLEASE point out any errors in here! I'm not familiar with how life works inside of an insane asylum, I honestly couldn't find out much about the actual workings of a patient's daily schedule, or how much examining an orderly did, so I have a feeling I made Lavi out to be more of Allen's doctor than his nurse. Either way's fine, I suppose, but I would have preferred him to be an orderly. Again, if anyone has ANY corrections at all, please let me know so I don't sound dumb XD

P.S. This was based off of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as in the book, not the Disney movie. If you don't know who the Duchess is or don't get the whole pepper/baby thing or who the mock turtle is and why he's so gross, then go wiki the book. Also, I took the grotesqueness from the game Alice (though I totally forgot that that game was centered around an asylum until just now O_o I swear I didn't plagiarize it!)


	7. Nightmares

Hello everyone! Tonight's theme is "Write whatever you Want", and it was the hardest one to come up with ^_^;; I know, you'd think the last one would have been harder right? But I think you'll enjoy this one, I know I will ^_^

SPOILERS!

Set during Edo, before meeting with the Noah, but after the level three demons leave. (I refuse to call them Akuma for some reason *shrugs*)

Oh and uh, Allen's with them already, but they haven't met up with Teidoll's group yet. Fan fiction, after all.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

* * *

Allen felt that there was something off the moment they set foot in the village.

He expected it to be deserted, since the demons had probably killed anyone that lived here, but there weren't even any of _those_ around. There were only abandoned buildings and rubble. No breeze came through to play with the dead grass, and no sound came up to meet Allen's ears.

He was on edge, and he could see that the others were tense as well.

"Allen, do you see anything?" Lavi had come to a stop at Allen's side.

"No. Not for miles," Allen activated his eye again, just to double check. "Not a single demon. Do you think they all went to the same place that those level threes went?"

"Yes, but that's not the reason this place is deserted." Chomesuke stepped forward, approaching the leading pair. "My friend - she always told me to never come near here, no matter how desperate I was." She turned her head away in thought.

"Did she ever tell you the reason?" Lavi glanced around, suddenly paranoid.

"She told me that the - things here were never to be eaten, under any circumstances, and also that they would -" Chomesuke hesitated a moment, looking unsure as to how to phrase the next part. "She told me that if I ever did come here, and got bitten or scratched, that I should kill myself as quickly as possible."

Everyone stared, horrified, at the gate before them. It was ominous, looking like it was ready to consume them itself. It appeared to be the only opening in the wall surrounding the town, and no one wanted to step through it.

" If we don't get food now, we'll starve before we reach the next town."

Everyone cringed at how true Chaoji's words were.

"I'll go then, you guys wait here." Allen turned toward the overbearing arch, straightening up to look determinedly ahead, just as he always did.

Lavi closed his eyes. "I will too."

Allen nodded at him, taking a step forward.

"I'll go too!" Lenalee stumbled away from Chaoji, trying desperately to look capable of walking.

Krory took a step forward as well.

"No," Lavi deadpanned. He faced them head on. "You can hardly walk, let alone fight if we need to, and Krory's innocence involves biting, which by the sound of it would be a bad idea," he looked over to the rest of their group. "And you guys have to stay here to protect everyone." He beat their opened mouths to the punch - well, in Miranda and Chomesuke's case, anyway. Bookman wasn't even looking.

"So, it's just you two? You're going in there all alone, with no backup plan?" Miranda looked up with shining eyes.

"Yeah." Allen started forward again.

"You're both always like this!" Miranda yelled, fist balled, halting Allen's movement. "You think that you have to handle everything to protect us, but it's just more of a burden to bear when you come back injured! Why do you want to go alone all the time?!"

Allen turned, expression softening as he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not that we _want _to go alone, it's just that we have to," He smiled sadly at her as she shook her head, not understanding. "We all have a job to do. Right now, ours is to make sure we all make it to the next town, and yours is to keep everyone alive until we get back," He looked over Miranda's shoulder, to where Chomesuke was staring at him. "You too. I'm trusting you to keep them safe from the demons."

Miranda sniffled, staring at the ground.

Allen gave everyone one last, meaningful look, hovering on Lenalee for the longest before returning to his staring contest with the gate. "Let's go."

Lavi nodded, silently following. Their boots made soft thudding noises against the dirt road, drowning out the sound of Miranda's quiet sobs.

They made their way down the main road, trying to find any traces of life at all. Fossilized cart tracks wound their way through the town, crisscrossing here and there.

"Wait," Allen froze in his steps, staring with wide eyes at the tracks he'd just walked through. "These tracks -" he knelt down, examining a bit closer, taking in the indentations. "It looks like something was being dragged through here."

Lavi knelt down next to him. "Well, I'm not exactly the most experienced tracker, but I would say you're right," he stood back up, eyes following the path. "We should follow them, they might lead us to someone."

Allen also rose from the ground, dusting off his pants as he went. The bad feeling he had was getting stronger the further along the trail he went, along with the scent of -

They rounded a corner to see a mound of bodies.

The stench that hung over the town's square was that of decay and mold and blood and flesh and -

Allen had to throw up.

He was surprised that Lavi had the same reaction.

"What the _hell?!_" Lavi wiped at his mouth, trying to regain some of his composure.

"I have no idea, but I guess that explains where everyone is."

They neared the pile to investigate, to find out what in God's name had happened, when they heard it.

A soft, deep moan from deep within.

Allen gasped, rushing forward. "Is anyone in there?! Please, say something so I can get you out!"

The moan came again, but this time accompanied by others.

Lavi grabbed him by the elbow, pulling him back. "Allen, I don't think we should be here anymore."

Confused, Allen pulled his arm out of Lavi's hold. "Why? There are people alive in there!" He started to head back toward the mass of flesh, who's voices were increasing in volume, only to find himself being pulled back again.

"Remember Chomesuke said that she was warned against things in this village? Well, I think these might be them," he pulled Allen closer to him, pointing to the center of the stack. "Look, every one of those bodies is moving now."

Allen squinted, picking out arms and feet and intestines and eyes that were squirming and swiveling and _clawing_ their way out of place, making the heap deflate and spread out not so slowly. "Y-yeah, we should get out of here. I wouldn't eat any food from here anyway." He started backing away, not taking his eyes off of the morphing form before him.

It stretched out toward him, becoming thinner, becoming a single man leading others as he crawled forward, going from being on his stomach to his kne-

"RUN!" Lavi grabbed Allen's hand, whipping him around to break into a flat out sprint.

The man behind them did the same.

As did the ones behind him.

"Fuckfuckfuck!!" Lavi flew through street after street, finally getting back onto the main one with the entrance.

"Wait! We'll led them back to the others! We can't let them out!"

"FUCK!" Lavi dug his heels into the soil, shifting back and forth trying to think before the monsters were upon them. "We should seal the exit! We can get out over the wall with Odzuchi Kodzuchi!"

But before Allen could reply, he was on the ground.

A woman with half her face gone was on him.

Her eyeball hung down to touch his cheek.

He screamed.

She pressed her fingers into his sides, his jacket being the only thing that stopped her nails from puncturing skin. Allen was still screaming as she brought her face down, the remaining part of her mouth opening, screeching next to his ear.

Then she was a red and black splatter on a wall.

"ALLEN!" Lavi wrenched him up by the hand, planting his hammer's head into the ground. "GROW!"

Allen was barely aware of what was happening. He stared at the sky as he was laid down.

"Allen! ALLEN! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Lavi slapped the other boy, and thank fucking God he got a reaction.

"Ow, damnit Lavi, I'm ok!" Allen rubbed his cheek.

"Did you get bitten or scratched or anything?" Lavi was frantically checking him over, looking for any signs of red.

"No, you stopped her in time." Allen stood up, now apparently within his senses, and took a look around. Lavi had moved them to take refuge on top of a nearby roof. He wasn't sure how far away they had traveled, so he scanned the wall for the entrance -

And his heart stopped.

Lavi looked in the same direction, panicked at the expression his friend had, to see the entirety of the cluster crawling; running towards where Lenalee and the other waited. "NO!! HIBAN!!!"

The entryway erupted into a column of flame, the walls and frame falling to block off any escape.

"L-Lavi." Allen turned to him, face glowing from the flames. "Do you think those things are… human? Do you think it was ok to kill that woman?"

Lavi looked down at his hammer, chunks of the woman's skull still stuck to it. "No, they're definitely not human. And they're not just trying to kill us. They're trying to eat us. I think we're perfectly justified in killing them."

"I guess so, it's just that they look so - LAVI!"

Lavi turned around to see, quite simply, a monster. It had a lobster's body, scorpion's tail, mismatched human feet on all eight of it's legs, and a feline head, red fur blending slowly down to it's bald, bright shell.

It had a set of obsidian claws rammed through it.

"Lavi, oh fuck, what _is_ that?!"

Lavi just backed away, shaking his head, trying to get more than a foot away from the drooling set of moldy teeth, to look away from those thousand eyes. He bumped into Allen's chest. "W-where did that even _come_ from? Is it a demon?"

Allen shook his head. "No, I have no idea, but we're getting out of here and burning this place," he withdrew his hand from the thing, black and green ooze coming from the holes left in it.

Lavi stared. "That's - That's your Innocence now?" He touched the soft fur that surrounded Allen's shoulders.

"Yeah, and we can use it to burn everything here. Come here," he held onto Lavi's waist as the ends of his Innocence webbed out, anchoring itself deep down into the roof. It extended, raising higher up into the sky and backwards at the same time, making it's way to the wall. "Once we're over the wall, use Hiban to destroy everything in there."

Lavi was in mid nod when he saw another set of eyes appear behind Allen's head.

"SHIT!" He tried to knock it off with the handle of his hammer, but it dodged, crawling down Allen's back.

"OH GOD! WHAT IS THAT?!" Allen flailed, almost dropping Lavi, Innocence waving about. "FUCK! GET OFF!" With one last flash of white, the horrid creature dropped away, innards trailing behind it to land in the reeking pool of flesh that was now hot on their trail.

The second they were over the wall, Lavi used the biggest seal in his life. It encompassed the whole town, everything going up in flames, the air thick with the sickening smell of hair and skin burning.

There were a few flaming sets of hands and faces trying to get over the wall.

They disintegrated into ash.

Allen and Lavi landed in a nearby tree, both thoroughly tired.

"Did that thing get you on your back?"

Allen shook his head, deactivating his innocence to better accommodate their seating arrangement. "No, but it did scare the shit out of me."

Lavi chuckled, resting his forehead against Allen's shoulder. "I think this is the most I've ever heard you curse."

Allen looked away. "I think this is the first time I've ever been that scared. I know what demons are and how they're made, but - but those things..." he trailed off, trembling slightly.

Lavi felt his own body shaking. "Yeah, I know."

They sat in silence for a bit, not thinking of the monsters of their friends, just trying to reconcile with what had just occurred, the pure _terror_ they had just encountered.

Bookmen weren't supposed to have a heart; weren't supposed to have fear.

Exorcists should know no fear; should be confident in God's will.

But at the core, Bookmen and Exorcists alike were human.

"Lavi," Allen scooted closer watching the last bits of bone burning on the ledge of the wall. "I'm still scared. I- I want to tell you something."

Lavi straightened up, looking into Allen's eyes. "Ok?"

Allen fidgeted nervously. "In case anything like this ever happens again, where one of us might make it out, which is our entire situation here in Edo, I wanted you to know that - " Allen leaned his forehead against Lavi's, shyly meeting his eyes. "I - really like you. I want you to be around more. I want to be with me when thing like - this happen," he glanced back to the smoldering buildings.

Lavi looked away, blushing and hearing Bookman's condescending voice at the same time. "I would really like to be, too."

And without thoughts of friends or duty, or the scent of a flaming nightmare on their minds, their lips met.

* * *

Haha! I uh, had to kind of squeeze some romance in there at the end, and it might seem completely out of place, but it's the only thing that really makes this a Laven, and not just a poor attempt at zombie/monster horror. By the way, the monster was based off of a mix between the Lobstrocities from Steven King's "The Dark Tower" series, and the scary spider-baby footed monsters from David Wong's online/printed novel "John Dies at the End". I highly recommend both. But yeah, this was SO LONG, so if you would, drop me a review to let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!


	8. Ending Note

IT'S THE LAST NIGHT! IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! GAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This was a really fun week, but I've been itching to play FF10 and Harvest Moon the WHOLE TIME, but I couldn't because of my determination to get my chapters out on time. I'm excited about this last chapter, I think it'll turn out well. So let's get to it!

AU, same time period.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

* * *

Lavi couldn't wait for Allen's visit today.

He scribbled on his manuscript, adding in progressive decrescendos, leaving the dynamic in a pleasant pianissimo. His quill wrote in and scratched out retards and accelerandos, trying to make sure that when the parts are played together, they would wind around each other and dance with a life of their own.

He glanced out of his window.

Since their childhood, whenever he would compose a new piece, he would always have Allen run through it with him to make sure that it sounded ok and was easy enough to read.

Well, that was how it started, anyway.

As time went on, Lavi got to hear Allen's singing more and more. Lavi became popular, so he had to compose more, meaning Allen was coming over more.

Now he was over almost every day.

Lavi loved it.

He had actually started composing songs for the sole purpose of giving Allen a reason to sing for him. It's not like Allen possessed the voice of an angel or anything, it's just that Lavi loved it. It was smooth, with great tone, but went a little flat sometimes. Lavi made sure to make fun of him whenever he caught it.

Allen's voice had improved incredibly over the years.

It still wasn't perfect, but Lavi liked that.

Lavi loved how his voice would get hoarse after a while, the sheepish smile that would cross his face when he didn't come in on time or got the words wrong.

It wasn't perfection he had fallen in love with.

It was just Allen.

A knock echoed through his house.

"Coming!" Lavi's footsteps echoed loudly off of his walls as he flew down his steps. He flung open his doors with a broad smile, happy to see Allen reflecting his expression.

"Have I ever told you that you sound like an elephant coming down your stairs?"

Lavi stepped aside to let Allen in. "Only about a thousand times."

"Well, I thought I'd remind you anyway," Allen chucked as he made his way upstairs ahead of Lavi, toward their usual practice area. The room was empty except for a mirror-polished black piano with a matching stool, and a single white chair a few feet away. The front wall was comprised completely of windows, all opened, curtains swaying with the breeze. "So, what do we have today? The same piece as yesterday?" Allen took his habitual place in the chair.

Lavi sat at the piano. "No, I actually have something new for you," he handed the sheet music over. "It's a duet."

"A duet? That's unusual, you usually only write full arrangements, right?" Allen looked over the music, observing that there was only one line for voice and one for piano.

"Yeah, but this is something special I've been working on for a while now."

"Really? Why haven't you told me about it before?" Allen looked to where Lavi was arranging his own set of music on the piano.

"It wasn't ready yet," Lavi turned to face Allen. "Ready to start?"

Allen shook his head, looking at his music again. "Not really, I can't really pronounce these words. What language are they?"

Lavi smiled. "Japanese. I was getting bored of Latin, so I thought I'd give myself a challenge. It's actually really simple, I'm sure you'll get it."

"If you say so," Allen sighed, sounding out the verses in his head before they started. "Ok, let's give it a try."

Lavi took a deep breath, readying himself for what he was about to do. This piece was written for one reason, and he'd been putting it off because he was afraid of the consequences. When he said that "it" wasn't ready, he had meant that "he" wasn't ready.

His fingers gently descended to begin the melody. It was soft, sweet, sweeping, and a little sad.

Just like Allen.

"Soshite bouya wa nemuri ni tsuita, ikizuku hai no naka no hono-o" Allen looked up to see if Lavi showed any displeasure at his pronunciation. He was still playing, a serene look on his face, so Allen figured he was doing well enough and continued.

Lavi was lost.

This was - God it was beautiful. Allen followed along with his part effortlessly, only messing up the words here and there.

Beautiful.

Perfectly imperfect.

Lavi continued to play his circular melody, barely paying attention to his part.

"Watashi wa inori tsuzukeru, douka konoko ni ai wo, tsunaida te ni kisu wo."

Lavi let the last of the notes ring out, fingers shaking now in anticipation.

"That was great! Another success!" Allen stood to hand the music over, only to have his wrist be caught in a gentle hold.

"Do you like it?" Lavi wouldn't raise his eyes.

Allen blinked. Lavi was acting weird again. "Yeah, I thought it was really pretty, and the melody was fun to sing."

"Good. I - " Lavi half rose his head, before deciding against it. What he was about to say could be catastrophic; it could be wonderful. "I wrote it for you." He finally met Allen's eyes; surprised and shining. "_Because_ of you."

Allen couldn't understand what was happening. Had Lavi found out? Had he messed up somewhere along the line? "B-because of me?"

"Yes. I - " Lavi had to look away again. Judging by the slightly horrified expression on Allen's face, this wasn't going to end well. He was already in too deep now to stop though. "I wrote it to express my feelings toward you." He hunched down, shutting his eyes and squeezing Allen's wrist. "I love you."

There was a silence where neither one moved. Lavi was trying to stop himself from exploding and trying to play it off as a joke. He had to confront this face on, and he wasn't about to take it back. He sat, quietly shaking, just barely holding himself together.

He felt arms wrap around him, a warm embrace from behind.

"You beat me," Allen dropped a soft kiss into flaming red hair. "I was going to tell you after dinner." He pressed against Lavi's shoulders, urging him to turn around. Lavi complied and sat, staring, in front of him. "I love you too, Lavi. I have for a long time."

Their lips met.

It was chaste, brief, and childish, but it conveyed the feeling all the same.

"I only write for you, you know." Lavi bumped their foreheads together.

"I know, and I only sing for you."

* * *

I liked that a lot! I thought the ending was a little weak, but whatever! It was cute! Oh, and the song that was used (though you should know this) was Tsunaida te ni kiss wo (A.K.A. the 14th's song).

And with that, concludes LAVEN WEEK!

Thank you for reading this all the way through! I really loved this, and I hope to write more often in the future. Drop me a review to tell me what you thought, and I hope I see you again in my other fics!


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